CVE-2022-23471 containerd CRI stream server: Host memory exhaustion through terminal resize goroutine leak
An attacker can exhaust host memory via a goroutine leak in containerd's CRI stream server when handling failed TTY launches, causing denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2022-23471?
CVE-2022-23471 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in containerd, published on 7 Dec 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
containerd is an open source container runtime. A bug was found in containerd's CRI implementation where a user can exhaust memory on the host. In the CRI stream server, a goroutine is launched to handle terminal resize events if a TTY is requested. If the user's process fails to launch due to, for example, a faulty command, the goroutine will be stuck waiting to send without a receiver, resulting in a memory leak. Kubernetes and crictl can both be configured to use containerd's CRI implementation and the stream server is used for handling container IO. This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.6.12 and 1.5.16. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. Users unable to upgrade should ensure that only trusted images and commands are used and that only trusted users have permissions to execute commands in running containers.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-23471?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/containerd/containerd. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/containerd/containerd Go | All versions | 1.5.16, 1.6.12 |
github.com/containerd/containerd Go | All versions | 1.5.16 |
github.com/containerd/containerd Go | All versions | 1.5.16 |
github.com/containerd/containerd Go | From 1.6.0 | 1.6.12 |
github.com/containerd/containerd Go | From 1.6.0 | 1.6.12 |
Linux distribution packages (20)
containerd SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 12 | All versions | 1.6.16-16.71.1 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP4 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd openSUSE:Leap 15.4 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd openSUSE:Leap Micro 5.3 | All versions | 1.6.16-150000.82.2 |
containerd openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.6.12-1.1 |
Products include Linuxfoundation Containerd.
How do I fix CVE-2022-23471?
Upgrade github.com/containerd/containerd to a fixed version for your release line: 1.5.16 or 1.6.12.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2022-23471 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-23471 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in containerd
- CVE-2026-53488 containerd CRI — image-config `LABEL` flows to restart-monitor `binary://` logger: host-root command execution from an image pull
- CVE-2026-53492 containerd CRI checkpoint restore CDI annotation smuggling
- CVE-2026-53489 containerd: Arbitrary host CRI log file read via symlink following in CRI checkpoint restore
- CVE-2025-47290 Containerd vulnerable to host filesystem access during image unpack
- CVE-2026-46680 containerd user ID handling bypass allows runAsNonRoot evasion
Sources
Also known as AZL-11585, CLEANSTART-2025-SX71346, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-23471, GHSA-2qjp-425j-52j9, GO-2022-1147, OESA-2022-2143 and 4 more.